Chachra, Debbie. “Why I Am Not a Maker,” in The Atlantic (Washington, DC: The Atlantic Monthly Group, 2015).
This passage resonated with me because this is something that my Dad often says to me. He warns me against labeling myself, because labels create limitations on who you can be or imagine yourself to be. Instead, it’s better to use verbs to describe what you do and who you are. This centers an individual holistically, not just one element of their identity. When American culture promotes identification with “maker”, it perpetuates the hierarchy of capitalism, where the maker is supreme, and the laborer valueless. This quote reminded me of the importance of destabilizing my sense of self every now and then. In the future, I hope I will not fall into the trap of identifying totally with my job, or partner, or children or the place I live.
This term in Hacking the Humanities, I hope to explore coding. As of yet I have very little experience. I think that coding is one of the most powerful modern tools, and I want to express humanistic inquiry through code. I view code as an art form, because there isn’t one prescribed method for coding ‘correctly’. I also love how open code is-you can make practically anything! I hope to channel my imagination through code.
I am also excited to explore graphic design. I have designed a few things on Adobe Illustrator, and hope to improve my skills so that I can design album covers.
Further, I hope to learn more methods of presenting data in compelling digital formats. A well designed infographic carries a lot of authority. It would also be an excellent skill to list on a resume, and would be particularly helpful for journalism, a field I am interested in.
